Equality of Men and Women in Islam (the Reality)
In the collection of Hadiths of Imam Ahmad was narrated the Hadith that Um Salama (May Allah be pleased with her) said: “I said “O Messenger (May peace and blessings be upon him) of Allah. Why aren’t we mentioned in the Quran in an equal footing with men?” Then; I was surprised to hear Him call one day from the pulpit: “O people.” As I was combing my hair at the moment, I wrapped it up and came close to the door and stood there listening to Him say: “Allah, Mighty and Sublime be He, revealed that (For Muslim men and women; for believing men and women; for devout men and women, for true men and women; for men and women who are patient and constant; for men and women who humble themselves; for men and women who give in charity; for men and women who fast; for men and women who guard their chastity; and for men and women who engage much in Allah’s remembrance for them has Allah prepared forgiveness and great reward.) Verse 35, Surat al-Ahzab, or the Confederates – From Islam QA

“There is little doubt that many Muslim women are subject to abuse and subjugation – without making sweeping generalizations, many women in some so called Muslim lands are denied the rights given to them by Islam – rights to which they are entitled as human beings and as women. However we must separate Muslims from Islam; we must separate theory from practice. In Islam this separation is possible – Islamic legislation has given women unprecedented status, even if Muslims did not always live up to these amazing standards.”

EDUCATION
Considered by many these days as a basic human right, in Islam both men and women are duty bound to seek education for the Prophet Muhammad said: “The search for knowledge is a duty on every Muslim” [Bukhari].

– Women were in Islamic universities long before they were considered human in western societies.

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Men and women are equal before God – they are the protecting friends of one another, they are garments of one another, hiding one another’s faults; but they are not the same. In Islam – imitation is not liberation.

Women are not men – an obvious statement, but one which is often overlooked. Islam offers a balance – which can be seen if one looks to nature – black and white, up and down, day and night etc. etc. Two halves to form a whole. Balance is absolutely vital. But, following the industrial revolution women and men became more and more alike. Men have become cogs in the system. Women have also been pulled into the consumerism of an industrialized society and have been forced into the work place, but still receive no help at home – a recent study showed that 9 out of 10 men were not ‘New Men’ and did not help out at home (The Times, Nov. 1995).

Western society has ignored the balance and told women that for them to have status they must achieve what men achieve. Western society has created a new image for women based on the male – and this is very objectionable. Rather than highlighting her individual strengths, she is told to compete according to male criteria in order to have value.

But she is not given any help to cope with her additional responsibilities. “Work, have a career to achieve status – but we will not provide crucial facilities, or time off during school holidays. Thus degrading the family infrastructure to the point where daycares are becoming the moral craddle for the children of such families. “We are now facing a situation where, as the President of Bosnia, Alija Ali Izebegovic, said:

“Modern civilization has disgraced motherhood… It has preferred the calling of a salesgirl, model, teacher of other people’s children, secretary, cleaning woman and so on to that of mother. It has proclaimed motherhood to be slavery and promised to free women from it.” [Islam Between East and West p.144-145]

So, we have put down the feminine and are saying: ‘masculine criteria is the best, indeed only thing to judge by, feminine criteria is second class – useless’.

But in Islam both are equal (in their own right), but they are different. So in Islam we do not have the situation where: -the logical is perceived as better than the lateral; the firm is perceived as better than the tender; the analytical is perceived as better than the intuitive. In Islam women do not say: “I’m only a housewife” – Where did this word “ONLY” come from? – It came from taking the masculine criteria as best. Why is being in the rat-race superior to being a mother? Because we see the masculine as superior to the feminine.

Where is the spirit of the Malcolm X (Malik al-Shabazz) quote:
“If you educate a man you educate one person; if you educate a woman you educate and liberate a nation”.